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Showing posts from November, 2015

Libido Redux

I was intrigued by the following piece in the NYT. My reflections in red . Letter to the Catholic Academy OCT. 31, 2015 Ross Douthat MY dear professors! I read with interest your widely-publicized  letter  to my editors this week, in which you objected to my recent coverage of Roman Catholic controversies, complained that I was making unfounded accusations of heresy (both “subtly” and “openly”!), and deplored this newspaper’s willingness to let someone lacking theological credentials opine on debates within our church. I was appropriately impressed with the dozens of academic names who signed the letter on the Daily Theology site, and the distinguished institutions (Georgetown, Boston College, Villanova) represented on the list. In my book, concerning such academic names and theological credentials, I noted: When asked by Vittorio Messori in his famous interview with Cardinal Ratzinger about the fact that he once was associated with some theologians who have si

Was Vatican II Hijacked? Or Smoked?

In his Crisis Magazine classic , James Hitchcock writes that while the Second Vatican Council was itself orthodox, much of what followed was not. I agree with all of his conclusions, except there is one he missed, given by Paul VI after the council. O n March 17, 1990, in Il Sabato magazine in Rome) the Holy Father told a congregation: We have the impression that through some cracks in the wall the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God: it is doubt, uncertainty, questioning, dissatisfaction, confrontation. And how did this come about? We will confide to you the thought that may be, we ourselves admit in free discussion, that may be unfounded, and that is that there has been a power, an adversary power. Let us call him by his name: the devil. We thought that after the Council a day of sunshine would have dawned for the history of the Church. What dawned instead was a day of clouds and storms, of darkness, of searching and uncertainties.   His fears of demonic penetr

Dancing With Mr. D: Silent Night Abortion

ABC’s “Scandal” is  coming under fire  over a scene that seemingly featured the show’s main character undergoing an abortion, as the popular Christmas hymn “Silent Night” played in the background.   The prince of this world is pleased.

AS She Navigates the Storms of the Present Times...

I devoted an entire chapter in my book to the demise of Catholic Education after Vatican II, and was heartened to learn of the Apostolic Nuncio's views of late: Apostolic Nuncio to USCCB: Time to Regain Catholic Identity in Catholic Schools BALTIMORE - Catholic schools need to renew the Catholic identity of their past for the New Evangelization. That was  the message  of Abp. Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States, speaking to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) at their annual fall meeting on Monday. He started by reminding the bishops of the primary means of growth for the Catholic Church in America according to its earliest leaders: education. The Faith spread in the United States "through the building of parishes with their own schools, together with the dedicated support of women religious." "These schools became fortresses of solid Catholic formation for all those young people who would take their place in Am

Cabrini Catholic?

It seems that Cabrini College is hosting a   Remembrance on November 19. The event will have a discussion on the "conceptualization of 'gender' in our society" followed by a   transgender candlelight vigil to "honor and remember the lives of transgender individuals fallen victim to hate." Although a Catholic school, Cabrini makes no effort to promote what the Church teaches about same-sex activity. Indeed, there will be two events, called Ally 101 and Ally 201, which seek to teach people that homosexuality is normal and that they must empathize with "non-gender-conforming individuals." Note another Cabrini event earlier this year called " Your Gender-Bred Identity " described as follows: Challenge conceptualizations of gender and explore the intersections of gender and sexuality as it pertains to the theory of the "gender-bred person." Participants will have the opportunity to decorate a person-shaped cookie inspire

The New Normal

I have posted regularly on the relevance of Humanae Vitae for our  times . In his encyclical the Pope reminds us of references in Scripture and the Mass to the aggressive and oppressive “power of darkness,” and adds: So we know that this dark disturbing being exists and that he is still at work with his treacherous cunning; he is the hidden enemy who sows errors and misfortunes in human history. It is worth recalling the revealing Gospel parable of the good seed and the cockle, for it synthesizes and explains the lack of logic that seems to preside over our contradictory experiences: "An enemy has done this." He is "a murderer from the beginning . . . and the father of lies,"[Jn 8:44] as Christ defines him. He undermines man's moral equilibrium with his sophistry. He is the malign, clever seducer who knows how to make his way into us through the senses, the imagination and the libido, through utopian logic, or through disordered social contacts in the giv

Libido Redux: Sexting Ring Busted at Colorado High School, Over 100 Students Involved

How is it that these students are conditioned to do this? Sexting Ring Busted at Colorado High School, Over 100 Students Involved | Mediaite : 'via Blog this'